Game-board.



G. W. COOPER.

GAME BOARD.

APPLIGATION EILED PEBJZ, 1914.

Patented Feb. 9, 1915.

Z SHEETS-SHEET 1.

l GegysqffWwg/Ufy; INVENTOR WITNESSES ATTORN EY G. W. COOPER.

GAME BOARD.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.12. 1914.

l. l 97,594. Patented Feb. 9, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

. cvfyWCb/f, INVENTOR) wlTNEssEs 1 i t BY .g

ATTORNEY GEORGE WILLIAM COOPER, 0F HANSBORO, NORTH DAKOT.`

GAME-BOARD.

Specification of Letters latent.

Patented Feb. e, reis.

Application filed February 12, 1914. Serial No. 818,333.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. COOPER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hansboro, in the county of Towner and State of North Dakota, have invented a new and luseful Game-Board, of which the folllowing is a specification.

. This invention has reference to improvements in game boards, and more particularly game boards designed for the playing of the games known as chess and checkers, and its object is to provide an enlarged or lmagnified game board upon which the tions, many times the size of the customary boards of like character, and, moreover, is

` so constructed as to be readily hung upon `a Wall so as to lie substantially flat thereagainst, and which whenv not in use may be lodged in a suitable protecting casing, for which reason the game board is made of flexible material, and may be applied to a spring or other roller lodged in the casing in a manner to permit the board to be with drawn from the casing to its full length without being detached from the roller, and where a spring roller is employed, be drawn into the casing by the tension of the spring caused. by the drawing out of the board from the casing. Because of the arrangej ment and character of the game board it is necessary to make provision for holding the chess men or checkers to the board, Aand also to provide magnilied devices for the playing of the game, wherefore the game board appropriately divided oli' into proper spaces has each space and each man or playing element provided with coacting means for holding the men to the board allowing ready attachment or removal of the men and their change from place to place, and still not interfering with the rolling up of the board upon the roller in the casing. To facilitate the placing of the men upon the board and their removal therefrom, a manipulating device is provided since the board may be so large that many of the spaces are out of reach of the players, and, moreover, in order that the. board may be visible to an assembled audience of considerable size it must be placed high enough tol be readil seen and must be of mensions.

The invention will be best understood from -a consideration of the following detalleddescription, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, with the further understanding that while the drawings show a practical form of the invention, the latter 1s not confined to any strict conformity with the showing of the drawings, but'may be changed and modified so long as suchl changes and modificationsimark no material departure from the salient features of the invention.

In the drawings F igure l is an elevation of the improvedgame board, together with the casing designed to receive it, the board being shown in operative position, and both the casing and board being partly broken away to show otherwise hidden structure, a` set of chess men also being vshown applied to reserve spaces of the board. Fig. 2 is a vertical cross section of the structure of Fig. l drawn on a somewhat larger scale, but omitting the chess men. Fig. 3 is a section similar to that of Fig. 2, but showing theY board in the rolled up position. Fig. 4 is a detail section on 'a larger scale than Figs. l, 2 and 3, showing the manner of holding a playing element on the board. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the playing elements. Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section of a manipulating tool designed for placing the men upon and removing them from the board. Fig. 7 is v a perspective View of another type of playing element.

In referringto the structure of the present invention as a game board, although the playing indicia may be produced upon a flexible sheet, the term is employed inthe general sense of a structure adapted to the playing of games customarily played upon sti or rigid structures called game boards.

In accordance with the present invention' there is provided a sheet 1 which may be made of cloth or other suitable flexible material, or at least constructed so that it may be rolled up, but this does not preclude the use of stili material where the vstorage of the device in small compass is not material,

but when the structure is to be transported closed by a border 2 has produced thereover series of squares 3, 4alternately light and dark, after the manner of an ordinary chess board, and, as is customary, the total number of squares is sixty-four. The sheet 1 is made considerably wider than the width of the area inclosed by the border 2 to provide storagel spaces 5 so that the playing space is flanked on opposite sides by the storage spaces v5. One edge, constituting the free edge of the curtain-like board, is formed with a hem 6. inclosing a rod 7, which may be of metal to serve as la weight for holding the curtain-like board 1 when in 'playing po sition pendent. The other end of the curtain-like board is 'made fast to a roller 8 which may be and preferably is a spring -roller like those ordinarily employed for window shades or maps and the like. The ends of the roller 8 lare mounted in brackets 9. in turn secured'in an elongated box or casing 10 of suiiicient length and cross section 'to house the roller with the board rolled thereon as shown in Fig.I 3. This b'ox is provided with suspending means which-may be in the form of eyes 11 to env gage over hooks 12 to be secured lin any suitable support, such as a wall 13. One long side of the box or case 10 is in the form of ay door 14 connected to the body of the box by hinges 15 and at the free end pro-y vided with eyes 16 which may be engaged by --hooks y1.7 carried on that portion of the box which, because of itsrposition, may be termed the front of the box, the' construction being such that when the boxl or casing is hungI *on a wall by the hooks 12 the door 14 when released will fall pendently and vthen by asping the hem Aportion-6 of the curtainlike board 'the latter may be withdrawn '.from the casing to the desiredlextent to fully display lthe playing portion of the board, the rodY 7 holding the boardpendently the curtain again into the casing when so and the spring of the spring roller being put under -superior tension -suicient to draw desired, whereby the curtain is protected from harm and is housed in a small'compass facilitating transportation.-

. In eachsquare 3 and 4 near the upper end thereof, considering the board .as in playing position, there is formed a hole or passage 18 reinforced 'by `an eyelet .or gromet 19,

although the presence of the gromet. is not ynecessary when the passage is otherwise protected against wear, aswhen' the material .l employed for the curtain or board yis such that the gromet isl not needed. The storage 5" spa 5 arev also provided with suitable passages 20 which may protected-by eyelets or groinets 21 like the main or playing portion of the board. The storage spaces need only be suiliciently extensive to recelve king, queen, bishop, lmight, rook, and

pawns. It w1ll be understood, however, Athat more elaborate devices may be employed for the men as may be desired, and

as the game of chess may be considered as in the nature of a battle, the pawns may be represented as soldiers, the knights as ar mored figuresmounted on horses, the bishops may be represented with full robes and miters, and the king and queen may be represented as clothed in regal robes.

Along the border 2 at the top and bottom of the checkered space laid olf into the squares 3 and 4, appropriate words may be produced .and in the drawings these words consist of King 'and Queen, K. Bishop, Q. Bishop, K. Knight, Q. Knight,.K. Rook and Q. Rook, while the upright or side lines of the border 2 have thenumbers 1 to 8 opposite respective squares, those on one sidereading from abovedownwardly, and those on the other side from below upwardly. Each playing device is provided with a hook 24 projectingfrom the rear face near the upper end Lso as to be readily passed through the perforation 18 to suspend the,

playingde'vice in suitable covering .relation to the respective Asquares v.or-(4, as the case ma be. v A

order to facilitate the'nse of the structure, .a manipulatingtool is desirable, and

such a toolis shown in Fig. -6 ais-consisting ofa hollow rod 25 having one end formed into a relatively fixed jaw 26 and in opera,- tive. relation thereto is another jaw 27 mountedv on .the .rod by a pivot or hinge joint 28, a spring 29 serving to hold the jaw 27 in the closed position. -At that end of the rod 25 rem te from the jaw 26 a hand lever 30 is mounted on the rod by means of a hinge or plvot support, 31, and this hand lever is normally constrained to onepositionfby aspx-ing 32 interposed betweenit and the rod'25. Within the rod are direction-changing pulleys-.33, 34, respectively, and .throughthe walls of the rod are perforations 35,. 36, respectively. A cord 37 has .one rend madefasttoan appropriate end of n the lever 30 and from :thence is passed through the perforation 36, about thepulley '34, thence lengthwise of the.v hollow rod to and about the pulley .33, lthence out through ,the perforation 35, and ismade. fast to the .correspondang of the; pivoted Ajaw, 27.

men 22 or 23 are readily engaged as it hangs by the hook 24. Then by releasing the lever 30 the springs return the parts toward their first position, rmly grasping the particular man engaged, and this man may be removed from the board and moved to any other part of the board desired, the hook 24 being inserted througha suitable perforation 18, after which by .a proper manipulation of the lever 30 the jaw 27 is moved away from clamping engagement With the men and the latter is released.

The foregoing -.description has to do With a game of chess, While the game of checkers simply requires a difference in the shape ofthe men, it being customary to play checkers With round or disk-like men, of which one is shown at 22a in Fig. 7 Yrather than the more elaborately shaped ones employed in the game of chess.

With the board of the present invention the progress of the game may be Watched by many people. For smaller auditoriums the squares may'be about siX inches on each side, making the playingpart of the board fourI feet square, While for large auditoriums the squares 3 and 4 may be correspondingly larger,` and it Will be, understood that the men or other playing devices are made on a correspondingly magnified scale so that each man sufliciently covers a respective square, but should not be so large as to encroach on any adjoining square.

The invention, While notroi" necessity restricted to any particularsize, is designed for the playing of games upon a magnified or exaggerated scale, so as to be readily visible to many observers at one time, and the larger the gathering place for the observers the larger shouldbe the game board.

The particular colors or shades employed are not material, vexcept that the men' When made of flat form should be distinctly visvivble upon the respective squares.

What is'claimed is:- l

1. Means for playing games comprising a curtaindike game board, and vices adapted thereto, said playing vdevices and board having coacting means for sustaining the playing devices onlthe board,

' and the sustaining means on the board being substantially iush therewith to permit close rolling of said board on itself into compact form, whereby the curtain may bev rolled up Without interference from projecting parts.

playing de- 2. `Means for playing games, comprising a curtain like gameboard of magnified or exaggerated size, and playing devices of corresponding size adapted to said board, the board being provided With a roller, and means for sustaining the roller With the game board in pendent position, said playing devices and board having coacting means for sustaining the playing devices on the board and the sustaining means on the board being constructed to permit rolling of the. latter upon the roller into compact form.

3. Means for playing games, comprising a curtain-like game board with playing Spaces produced thereon and the curtain y Within each spacev having a `perforation therethrough, and playing devices adapted to the board and each provided With a projecting member adapted toeXtend through any one of the perforations to sustain the playing devices upon the board in proper relation to the playing spaces.

4. Means for playing games, comprising a curtain-like game board With playing spaces produced thereon and the curtain Within each space' having a perforation therethrough, and playing devices adapted to the board and each provided With a projecting member adapted to extend through any one of the perfor-ations to sustain the playing devices upon the board in proper relation to the playing spaces, said board having reinforcing means at each perforation substantially iush with the surfaces 'of the curtain.

5. VMeans for playing games comprising a curtain-like game board adapted to be hung against a Wall, the game board having playing spaces produced thereon and the playing means including playing devices adapted to the playing spaces on the board, and the latter being provided With storage spaces for the playing devices on opposite sides of the playing spaces.

. 6. Means for playing games comprising a curtain-like game board adapted to be hung ing spaces produced thereon and the playing means including playing devices adapted to the playing spaces o n the board,`and the latter being provided with storage spaces for the playing devices on opposite sides of the playing spaces, said playing devices and the gameboard both Within the playing spaces and the storage spaces having coacting means for sustaining the ,playing devices on the playing board in readily removable relation thereto and the sustaining means on the body of curtain and on the storage spaces being substantially fiush With the faces of the curtain to provide for the close rolling of the curtain.

7. Means for playing games comprising a curtaln-like gameboard adapted to be hung against a wall; the game hoard having playav on the playing in-g spaces produced thereon and the playing means including playing devices adapted to the playing spaces on the board, and the latter being provided With storageI spaces for the playing devices on opposite sides of the playing spaces, said playing devices and the game board both Within the playing spaces and the storage spaces having coacting means for sustaining the playing devices board in readily removable relation thereto, the portions of the coacting means upon the board being in substantially -the plane thereof to permit rolling of the board upon itself into compact form, and those portions of the sustaining means upon each playing device projecting therefrom on the face remote from the observed face.

8. A game board structurecomprising a roller, a casing in which the roller is mount` ed, a curtain-like gamel board secured at one edge to the roller and adapted to be rolled thereon to. be inclosed by the casing, said game board having playing spaces produced thereon and storage spaces on opposite sides vofthe playing spaces, the game board at the playing spaces and Yat-the storagey spaces havlng perforations, and playing devices'adapted to the game board and each provided with a sustaining member adapted to be 'passed through any,one of the perforations on the game board.4 y l .9. A game board structure comprising a i roller, a casing in which the roller is mounted, a curtain-like gameboard secured at one the. roller and adapted to' be rolled thereon to be inclosed by the casing, said game board having lplaying .spaces produced thereon and storage` spaces on opposite sides of the playing spaces, the 'game-board at the playing spaces and at the storage spaceshaving perforations, and playing devices adapt vepd-to the game board andl each provided with 'a ysustaining member vadapted to be,

passed through any one of the perforations y of the game board,v the 'perforations of the Y produced thereon,

game board beingv providedwith reinforcements and the sustaining means on the pla ing devices being. in p adapted to the reinforced perforations.

10. A game'board' structurecomprising a curtain-like' game foration neanonef edge, and playing devices each having a sustaining memberv near .one edge and adapted relation thev form of yh oo s' board Withplaying spaces each space having a per.

to any one of the perforaiv tions of theplaying board to sustainv the devices in; substantially centralized to any chosen one of the playing spaces pendently when the curtain-like game I board is sustained in a pendent position.

11. A game board. of curtain-like construction capable of being rolled up, in combination Witha spring roller to which one edge'of the game board is made fast, and a casing in which the roller is mounted, said playing casing having one side constructed'to open te permit the Withdrawal of the game board from the casing into visible position.

12. A game board of curtain-likev construction capable of being rolled up, in combination with a spring roller to which one edge of the game board is casing in which the roller is mounted, said casing having one side constructed to open to permit the Withdrawal of the game board from the casing. into visible position, said casing having sustaining means at a point remote from the side adapted to open to permit the game board to be Withdrawn from the casing to pendent position with that side of the casing adapted to 'open to the rear of the game board.

made fast, and'a I 13. A game board of curtain-likev formy l being'rolled up with sustaining capable of the rollingyup means constructed to permit or spreading out of the game V ter having playing spacesy produced thereon and storage spaces outsideA of the area dei voted to the laying spaces, and-playing deboard, the latvices adapte to the game-board, said devices,4

with coactingy 4sustaining l devices and game board havingpcoactmg p means for sustaining the playing devices on the board, and manipulating means I for the playing devices constructed to engage play' ing devices otherwise p1ayers. y

In testimonymy ovvn,.I have hereto aiiixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.'

GEORGEv WILLAM COOPER.

vWitnesses: i L

ALBERT ROGER KRATz,

lLAURA C. WEEDEn.

'out of reach of the that I claim the foregoing as I 

